For all those who wonder about Scifi's true colors

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

Hey, I liked Knight Rider! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Of course, I was about ten then, and quite taken with the talking car. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif Kribu, your tastes are hardly unique, I know. It was a popular show for a time, I think.

But I must say your taste has improved over the years. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

From Knight Rider to B5. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

Didn't John Travolta put up the money to make this film? The book was written by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology, and Travolta is a member of that group. John tried to get this movie produced for a number of years and when he couldn't get any producer or studio (money) interested he decided to fund it himself.

My brother saw the movie and told me not even to consider renting it. But I think I will tape it just to see how bad it really is . . . and, I can fast foward. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

I was speaking of Ed Woods, SS. Not John Travolta.

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

Travolta was involved in the production phase of the movie. There has been talk of a sequel.

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true colors

Oh My... /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Eh, at least it is Scifi... /forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

I should have noted, in my post above, that I was talking about Battlefield Earth. John Travolta got it produced.

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

Although I never saw it BE seems like one of those movies that went past so bad it's funny to so bad it's coma inducing. Does BE have some of the religion stuff in it or are they both simply pieces of fiction from the same author?

About scifi, at least this movie is science fiction. The best example of scifi's true colors is passing on Polaris for a show about intergalactic vampires. Polaris being turned down for being too scifi.

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

Hypatia, $10,000 or so would have been about the top budget for Ed Wood. He got lots of ordinary folks to invest, including a church! He used that Hollywood Dream to hypnotize them mostly. I think he might have made some money too, since he produced them so cheap. It's been a while since I saw the movie Ed Wood, or the documentary Look Back In Angora, both of which discussed his business side some, IIRC.

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

It's Ed Wood, not Ed Woods. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
(Don't worry, it's a very common mistake)

Jade, now that you mention it, I do remember some movie of his with a "G," and it was a female name.


Anyway, with all the TNG and Criterion DVDs I'm getting / got to watch, I won't have time to rent Battlefield Earth. Oh, shucks. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

Ah, thanks GKE. Blame it on James Woods, I guess, old mighty. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I thought they both had the same last name. I'm sure James Woods is rather glad they don't. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

$10,000 to make a complete movie? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif You couldn't even afford Boris Karloff's salary for $10,000 I would think. (Was it BK who starred in all of those Ed Wood movies?)

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

(Was it BK who starred in all of those Ed Wood movies?)

Click to expand...

No, it was Bela Lugosi.

As for Battlefield Earth, when it came on in the UK recently my wife tuned in to have a look just because it can't possibly be as bad as everyone said it was.

Man, were we ever wrong. We sat there for the whole of the 20 minutes or so we managed to survive with looks on our faces kind of like this:



*SHUDDER*

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true colors

<font color="yellow"> Originally posted by hypatia: </font color>
This is it. The Sci-Fi channel has officially lost it, flipped it's collective lid, proven itself to be a few cents short of a dollar.

Click to expand...

A few cents short of a dollar? No, they're four cents short of a nickel.

"Polaris" is too "science-fictiony" ??? /forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

Yes but did one of you procalim "Wow! Let's do that again!" before being restrained by the tail

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

Hypatia, remember that back when Ed Wood was making movies, in the 50s and 60s, $10,000 was worth much more than it is now. Ad to that, Lugosi was a has-been who couldn't get work, and had a drug habit. Lugosi literally died during the making of Plan Nine From Outer Space, and EW got a barber friend of his to take over. The barber held the cape over the lower part of his face for the whole film, trying to keep you from seeing he wasn't Lugosi. EW used a lot of friends for little or no pay, and he had a lot of genuine Hollywood weirdos (is that an oxymoron AND redundant?) for friends, Like Tor Johnson, and the mistress of the dark that Elvira drew from, whose name I forget. Most of his money went for film, often cheap stock left over from WW2 days, processing, and the occassional costume, prop, or lighting rental. Even today, it is actually possible to make a good film for less than $10,000. Richard Rodriguez did it with his student feature film, El Mariachi, which is actually quite good, and was picked up and distributed by Columbia, for a few million, the film students' dream! One of his tricks, besides using friends and non professionals, was to have very little synched sound, so often we are seeing one person while another is talking! Hey, it worked! He made it in 1992 for $7,000. Here is the IMDb link to it. Scroll down the page, and in the review you will find mention of several other amazingly cheap, but good, and well known movies! http://us.imdb.com/Title?0104815

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

Thanks, Jade Jaguar. I'll have to check them out sometime.

I think that "Clerks" was a fairly low-budget movie that also did surprisingly well. Probably not as low-budget as you are talking about, though.

Bella Lugosi was replaced in "Plan 9" by a man that was noticeably of different build and height. Yes, I remember that. I think I saw the Ed Wood movie some years ago.

All I could ever think was: hard way to make a living. /forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

and the mistress of the dark that Elvira drew from, whose name I forget.

Click to expand...

Vampira
(see, 'cause it's like she's a vampire, but the 'a' at the end means it's a chick, so it's clever. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif)

Lugosi only appeared in Plan 9, no other Wood films, I believe.

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

They should have just called "Battlefield Earth" "A Scientologist's Wet Dream"... it would have made just as much money...

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

Vampira... yep that's it /forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif thanks, GKE. I've read she took the personna a little too seriously if you know what I mean...
Hyp, Clerks, mentioned in that link, cost about $27,000.
LH, think there's any truth to the rumor that there is subliminal stuff in Battlefield Earth meant to turn us all into good little cultists? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Re: For all those who wonder about Scifi\'s true co

yup /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif